EU delays ruling on retaliation in steel dispute

Brussels, Belgium  Welcoming "significant" concessions by Washington in the trans-Atlantic confrontation over steel trade, the European Union on Friday delayed until Sept. 30 any decision to impose retaliatory tariffs on imports of American goods.

EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy defended the delay saying "the EU interest is best served by maintaining maximum pressure" on the United States to make further concessions.

"The United States have taken useful steps in this direction and have told us there is more to come, but there is much more to do," Lamy said in a statement.

At the EU head office, envoys of the 15 EU governments endorsed Lamy's recommendation to hold off on $380 million in duties on U.S. products as of Aug. 1, unless the United States exempted enough European steel products from punitive tariffs it imposed early this year. They set a new deadline of Sept. 30.